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TTEC Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Financial Results

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Full Year 2023
Revenue was $2.463 Billion, up 0.8 Percent
Operating Income was $118.0 Million or 4.8 Percent of Revenue
($200.4 Million or 8.1 Percent of Revenue Non-GAAP)
Net Income was $18.3 Million or 0.7 Percent of Revenue
($103.2 Million or 4.2 Percent of Revenue Non-GAAP)
Adjusted EBITDA was $271.5 Million or 11.0 Percent of Revenue
Fully Diluted EPS was $0.39, $2.18 Non-GAAP

 Fourth Quarter 2023
Revenue was $626.2 Million, down 4.9 Percent
Operating Income was 16.9 Million or 2.7 Percent of Revenue
($41.8 Million or 6.7 Percent of Revenue Non-GAAP)
Net Income was ($8.2) Million or (1.3) Percent of Revenue
($17.5 Million or 2.8 Percent of Revenue Non-GAAP)
Adjusted EBITDA was $57.5 Million or 9.2 Percent of Revenue
Fully Diluted EPS was ($0.17), $0.37 Non-GAAP

 Provides Outlook for Full Year 2024

DENVER, Feb. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — TTEC Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTEC), a leading global CX (customer experience) technology and services innovator for AI-enabled CX with solutions from TTEC Engage and TTEC Digital, announced today financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2023.

As we have previously communicated, 2023 was a dynamic year for TTEC. The macroeconomic factors created a conservative and uncertain business environment that delayed client contracting decisions and lowered forecasts for certain clients in the second half of the year. While these factors moderated our results, we continued to make progress diversifying our business by growing our client base, completing a strategic phase of our geographic expansion, and expanding our AI-enabled solutions,” commented Ken Tuchman, chairman and chief executive officer of TTEC.

“Our 2024 outlook reflects three very specific challenges in our TTEC Engage segment. First, client budget constraints and a conservative mindset in the second half of 2023 is carrying forward into our 2024 outlook. Second, a long-tenured client eliminated one of several lines of business that we supported. While our relationship remains strong with this client and we continue to service their customers across multiple other lines of business, the discontinuation of this one line of business contributes to the impact on our top and bottom line in 2024. Third, while we are pleased by the growing demand for our new offshore locations, the timing lag between our recent wins and normalized revenue run rate and margins is weighing on our outlook,” Tuchman continued.

“In TTEC Digital, we delivered record bookings in the fourth quarter and the team is off to a strong start this year. Demand for our differentiated CX technology expertise continues to grow as cloud migrations and AI solutions drive our clients’ CX digital transformation agendas.”

Tuchman further stated, “As we move into 2024, we are laser focused on execution. We will continue to capitalize on our greatly expanded offshore footprint, deepen our relationships with new and existing clients, apply our AI-enabled solutions and accelerate our margin optimization initiatives.”

“TTEC’s board of directors’ decision to reduce the dividend reflects a prudent shift to prioritize our capital deployment towards continued investments in sustainable growth initiatives and debt reduction associated with strategic acquisitions. As revised, the dividend is in line with our stock price and the dividend yield typical for our industry and the broader market. I am confident we are well positioned to emerge stronger as we exit 2024.”

FULL YEAR 2023 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS                    

Revenue        

Full year 2023 GAAP revenue increased 0.8 percent to $2.463 billion compared to $2.444 billion in the prior year. Foreign exchange had a $4.4 million positive impact on revenue for the full year 2023.

Income from Operations

Full year 2023 GAAP income from operations was $118.0 million, or 4.8 percent of revenue, compared to $168.5 million, or 6.9 percent of revenue in the prior year.Non-GAAP income from operations, excluding restructuring and impairment charges, equity-based compensation expenses, amortization of purchased intangibles, and other items, was $200.4 million, or 8.1 percent of revenue, compared to $248.5 million, or 10.2 percent in the prior year.Foreign exchange had a $2.2 million negative impact on Non-GAAP income from operations for the full year 2023.

Adjusted EBITDA    

Full year 2023 Non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA was $271.5 million, or 11.0 percent of revenue, compared to $320.1 million, or 13.1 percent of revenue in the prior year.

Earnings Per Share

Full year 2023 GAAP fully diluted earnings per share was $0.39 compared to $2.48 in the prior year.Non-GAAP fully diluted earnings per share was $2.18 compared to $3.59 in the prior year.

FOURTH QUARTER 2023 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS                  

Revenue        

Fourth quarter 2023 GAAP revenue decreased 4.9 percent to $626.2 million compared to $658.3 million in the prior year. Foreign exchange had a $5.5 million positive impact on revenue in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Income from Operations

Fourth quarter 2023 GAAP income from operations was $16.9 million, or 2.7 percent of revenue, compared to $48.7 million, or 7.4 percent of revenue in the prior year.Non-GAAP income from operations, excluding restructuring and impairment charges, equity-based compensation expenses, amortization of purchased intangibles, and other items, was $41.8 million, or 6.7 percent of revenue, compared to $69.9 million, or 10.6 percent for the prior year.Foreign exchange had a $2.4 million negative impact on Non-GAAP income from operations in the fourth quarter 2023.

Adjusted EBITDA    

Fourth quarter 2023 Non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA was $57.5 million, or 9.2 percent of revenue, compared to $86.5 million, or 13.1 percent of revenue in the prior year.

Earnings Per Share

Fourth quarter 2023 GAAP fully diluted earnings per share was ($0.17) compared to $0.54 in the prior year.Non-GAAP fully diluted earnings per share was $0.37 compared to $0.91 in the prior year.

STRONG CASH FLOW AND BALANCE SHEET FUND INVESTMENTS AND DIVIDENDS

Cash flow from operations in the fourth quarter 2023 was $31.5 million compared to $18.2 million for the fourth quarter 2022. For the full year 2023, cash flow from operations was $144.8 million compared to $137.0 million for the same period 2022.Capital expenditures in the fourth quarter 2023 were $13.1 million compared to $19.4 million for the fourth quarter 2022. For the full year 2023, capital expenditures were $67.8 million compared to $84.0 million for the same period 2022.As of December 31, 2023, TTEC had cash and cash equivalents of $172.7 million and debt of $999.3 million, resulting in a net debt position of $826.5 million. This compares to a net debt position of $810.2 million for the same period 2022.As of December 31, 2023, TTEC’s remaining borrowing capacity under its revolving credit facility was approximately $90 million compared to $335 million for the same period 2022.On February 27, 2024, the Board declared the next semi-annual dividend of $0.06 per share, or $2.9 million, payable on April 30, 2024 to shareholders of record as of April 3, 2024. TTEC’s board of directors’ decision to reduce the dividend reflects a prudent shift to prioritize our capital deployment towards continued investments in sustainable growth initiatives and debt reduction associated with strategic acquisitions.TTEC paid a $0.52 per share, or $24.7 million, semi-annual dividend on October 31, 2023.

SEGMENT REPORTING & COMMENTARY

TTEC reports financial results for the following two business segments: TTEC Digital (Digital) and TTEC Engage (Engage). Financial highlights for the two segments are provided below.

TTEC Digital – Design, build and operate tech-enabled, insight-driven CX solutions

Fourth quarter 2023 GAAP revenue for TTEC Digital decreased 2.1 percent to $119.1 million from $121.7 million for the year ago period. Income from operations was $10.0 million or 8.4 percent of revenue compared to an operating income of $9.9 million or 8.2 percent of revenue in the prior year. Non-GAAP income from operations was $17.7 million, or 14.8 percent of revenue compared to operating income of $18.0 million or 14.8 percent of revenue in the prior year.

TTEC Engage – Digitally-enabled customer care, acquisition, and fraud mitigation services

Fourth quarter 2023 GAAP revenue for TTEC Engage decreased 5.5 percent to $507.1 million from $536.6 million for the year ago period. Income from operations was $6.9 million or 1.4 percent of revenue compared to operating income of $38.8 million, or 7.2 percent of revenue in the prior year.Non-GAAP income from operations was $24.1 million, or 4.8 percent of revenue, compared to operating income of $52.0 million, or 9.7 percent of revenue in the prior year.Foreign exchange had a $5.3 million positive impact on revenue and $1.9 million negative impact on income from operations.

BUSINESS OUTLOOK

“We ended 2023 in line with expectations but the recent dynamics in the Engage segment are causing a reduction in our 2024 revenue and margin outlook compared to 2023. We are confident in the initiatives currently in motion that focus on growth and margin improvement,” commented Francois Bourret, interim chief financial officer of TTEC. “As digital transformation continues to be a top priority for our clients, we are encouraged by the growing momentum with TTEC Digital. As we move forward, we will navigate this environment to position the company to exit 2024 with a view towards longer-term profitable growth.”

 

TTEC First Quarter and Full Year 2024 Outlook

First Quarter 2024
Guidance

First Quarter 2024
Mid-Point

Full Year 2024
Guidance

Full Year 2024
Mid-Point

Revenue

$559M — $569M

$564M

$2,275M — $2,365M

$2,320M

Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA

$52M — $58M

$55M

$215M — $259M

$237M

Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA margins

9.3% — 10.2%

9.8 %

9.5% — 11.0%

10.2 %

Non-GAAP operating income

$36M — $42M

$39M

$150M — $194M

$172M

Non-GAAP operating income margins

6.4% — 7.4%

6.9 %

6.6% — 8.2%

7.4 %

Interest expense, net

($20M) — ($22M)

($21M)

($77M) — ($79M)

($78M)

Non-GAAP adjusted tax rate

23% — 25%

24 %

23% — 25%

24 %

Diluted share count

47.4M — 47.6M

47.5M

47.4M — 47.6M

47.5M

Non-GAAP earnings per a share

$0.25 — $0.34

$0.30

$1.15 — $1.86

$1.51

Engage First Quarter and Full Year 2024 Outlook

First Quarter 2024
Guidance

First Quarter 2024
Mid-Point

Full Year 2024
Guidance

Full Year 2024
Mid-Point

Revenue

$453M — $457M

$455M

$1,790M — $1,850M

$1,820M

Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA

$41M — $45M

$43M

$149M — $179M

$164M

Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA margins

9.2% — 9.9%

9.5 %

8.4% — 9.7%

9.0 %

Non-GAAP operating income

$28M — $32M

$30M

$95M — $125M

$110M

Non-GAAP operating income margins

6.2% — 7.0%

6.6 %

5.3% — 6.8%

6.1 %

Digital First Quarter and Full Year 2024 Outlook

First Quarter 2024
Guidance

First Quarter 2024
Mid-Point

Full Year 2024
Guidance

Full Year 2024
Mid-Point

Revenue

$106M — $112M

$109M

$485M — $515M

$500M

Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA

$11M — $13M

$12M

$66M — $80M

$73M

Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA margins

10.1% — 11.3%

10.7 %

13.5% — 15.5%

14.5 %

Non-GAAP operating income

$8M — $10M

$9M

$55M — $69M

$62M

Non-GAAP operating income margins

7.6% — 8.9%

8.3 %

11.2% — 13.3%

12.3 %

The Company has not quantitatively reconciled its guidance for Non-GAAP operating income, Non-GAAP operating income margins, Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA, Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA margins, or Non-GAAP earnings per share to their respective most comparable GAAP measures because certain of the reconciling items that impact these metrics, including restructuring and impairment charges, equity-based compensation expense, changes in acquisition contingent consideration, depreciation and amortization expense, and provision for income taxes are dependent on the timing of future events outside of the Company’s control or cannot be reliably predicted. Accordingly, the Company is unable to provide reconciliations to GAAP operating income, operating income margins, EBITDA margins, and diluted earnings per share without unreasonable effort. Please note that the unavailable reconciling items could significantly impact the Company’s 2024 financial results as reported under GAAP.

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

This press release contains a discussion of certain Non-GAAP financial measures that the Company includes to allow investors and analysts to measure, analyze and compare its financial condition and results of operations in a meaningful and consistent manner. A reconciliation of these Non-GAAP financial measures can be found in the tables accompanying this press release.

GAAP metrics are presented in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.Non-GAAP – As reflected in the attached reconciliation table, the definition of Non-GAAP may exclude from operating income, EBITDA, net income and earnings per share restructuring and impairment charges, equity-based compensation expenses, amortization of purchased intangibles, among other items.

ABOUT TTEC 

TTEC (pronounced T-TEC) Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTEC) is a leading global CX (customer experience) technology and services innovator for AI-enabled digital CX solutions. Serving iconic and disruptive brands, TTEC’s outcome-based solutions span the entire enterprise, touch every virtual interaction channel, and improve each step of the customer journey. Leveraging next-gen digital technology, the Company’s TTEC Digital business designs, builds, and operates omnichannel contact center technology, CRM, AI and analytics solutions. The Company’s TTEC Engage business delivers AI-enabled customer engagement, customer acquisition and growth, tech support, back office, and fraud prevention services. Founded in 1982, the company’s singular obsession with CX excellence has earned it leading client, customer, and employee satisfaction scores across the globe. The Company’s over 60,000 employees operate on six continents and bring technology and humanity together to deliver happy customers and differentiated business results. To learn more visit us at https://www.ttec.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Earnings Press Release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995., Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to our operations, expected financial position, results of operation, effective tax rate, cash flow, leverage, liquidity, business strategy, competitive position, demand for our services in international operations, acquisition opportunities and impact of acquisitions, capital allocation and dividends, growth opportunities, spending, capital expenditures and investments, competition and market forecasts, industry trends, our human capital resources, and other business matters that are based on our current expectations, assumptions, and projections with respect to the future, and are not a guarantee of performance.

In this Release when we use words such as “may,” “believe,” “plan,” “will,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “project,” “would,” “could,” “target,” or similar expressions, or when we discuss our strategy, plans, goals, initiatives, or objectives, we are making forward-looking statements. Unless otherwise indicated or except where the context otherwise requires, the terms “TTEC,” “the Company,” “we,” “us” and “our”and other similar terms in this report refer to TTEC Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries. We caution you not to rely unduly on any forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements, and you should review and consider carefully the risks, uncertainties, and other factors that affect our business and may cause such differences as outlined in Item 1A. Risk Factors in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and any subsequent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) which are available on TTEC’s website www.ttec.com, and on the SEC’s public website at www.sec.gov

Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date that this release is issued. We undertake no obligation to update them, except as may be required by applicable law. Although we believe that our forward-looking statements are reasonable, they depend on many factors outside of our control and we can provide no assurance that they will prove to be correct.

Corporate Comms

Investor Relations

Marji Chimes

Paul Miller

marji.chimes@ttec.com

paul.miller@ttec.com

 

TTEC HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(In thousands, except per share data)

Three months ended

Twelve months ended

December 31,

December 31,

2023

2022

2023

2022

Revenue

$ 626,181

$ 658,278

$2,462,817

$2,443,707

Operating Expenses:

Cost of services

505,814

495,339

1,932,877

1,856,518

Selling, general and administrative

74,744

80,602

290,873

287,433

Depreciation and amortization

24,904

31,730

101,272

111,791

Restructuring charges, net

3,145

1,412

8,041

5,673

Impairment losses

650

450

11,733

13,749

         Total operating expenses

609,257

609,533

2,344,796

2,275,164

Income From Operations

16,924

48,745

118,021

168,543

Other income (expense), net

(21,988)

(15,877)

(77,297)

(24,095)

(Loss) / Income Before Income Taxes

(5,064)

32,868

40,724

144,448

Provision for income taxes

(3,142)

(7,318)

(22,460)

(27,115)

Net (Loss) / Income

(8,206)

25,550

18,264

117,333

Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest

(1,694)

(3,197)

(9,836)

(14,093)

Net (Loss) / Income Attributable to TTEC Stockholders

$   (9,900)

$  22,353

$      8,428

$   103,240

Net (Loss) / Income Per Share

Basic

$    (0.17)

$     0.54

$        0.39

$        2.49

Diluted

$    (0.17)

$     0.54

$        0.39

$        2.48

Net (Loss) / Income Per Share Attributable to TTEC Stockholders

Basic

$    (0.21)

$     0.47

$        0.18

$        2.19

Diluted

$    (0.21)

$     0.47

$        0.18

$        2.18

Income From Operations Margin

2.7 %

7.4 %

4.8 %

6.9 %

Net (Loss) / Income Margin

(1.3) %

3.9 %

0.7 %

4.8 %

Net (Loss) / Income Attributable to TTEC Stockholders Margin

(1.6) %

3.4 %

0.3 %

4.2 %

Effective Tax Rate

(62.0) %

22.3 %

55.2 %

18.8 %

Weighted Average Shares Outstanding

  Basic

47,425

47,220

47,335

47,121

  Diluted

47,503

47,299

47,419

47,335

 

TTEC HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

SEGMENT INFORMATION

(In thousands)

Three months ended

Twelve months ended

December 31,

December 31,

2023

2022

2023

2022

Revenue:

TTEC Digital

$ 119,118

$ 121,650

$    486,882

$    463,670

TTEC Engage

507,063

536,628

1,975,935

1,980,037

Total

$ 626,181

$ 658,278

$ 2,462,817

$ 2,443,707

Income From Operations:

TTEC Digital

$    9,982

$    9,924

$     29,846

$     34,895

TTEC Engage

6,942

38,821

88,175

133,648

Total

$  16,924

$  48,745

$   118,021

$   168,543

 

TTEC HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands)

December 31,

 December 31, 

2023

2022

ASSETS

Current assets:

   Cash and cash equivalents

$        172,747

$         153,435

   Accounts receivable, net

394,868

417,637

   Prepaids and other current assets

95,064

133,365

   Income and other tax receivables

18,524

45,533

      Total current assets

681,203

749,970

Property and equipment, net

191,003

183,360

Operating lease assets

121,574

92,431

Goodwill

808,988

807,845

Other intangibles assets, net

198,433

233,909

Income and other tax receivables, long-term

44,673

Other assets

139,724

86,447

Total assets

$     2,185,598

$      2,153,962

LIABILITIES AND EQUITY

Current liabilities:

   Accounts payable

$          96,577

$           93,937

   Accrued employee compensation and benefits

146,184

145,096

   Deferred revenue

81,171

87,846

   Current operating lease liabilities

38,271

35,271

   Other current liabilities

40,824

49,214

      Total current liabilities

403,027

411,364

Long-term liabilities:

   Line of credit

995,000

960,000

   Non-current operating lease liabilities

96,809

69,575

   Other long-term liabilities

75,220

79,273

      Total long-term liabilities

1,167,029

1,108,848

Redeemable noncontrolling interest

55,645

Equity:

   Common stock

474

472

   Additional paid in capital

407,415

367,673

   Treasury stock

(589,807)

(593,164)

   Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)

(89,876)

(126,301)

   Retained earnings

870,429

911,233

   Noncontrolling interest

16,907

18,192

      Total equity

615,542

578,105

Total liabilities and equity

$      2,185,598

$      2,153,962

 

TTEC HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In thousands)

 Twelve months ended 

 Twelve months ended 

 December 31, 

 December 31, 

2023

2022

Cash flows from operating activities:

     Net income

$                       18,264

$                      117,333

     Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities :

          Depreciation and amortization

101,272

111,791

          Amortization of contract acquisition costs

2,288

2,065

          Amortization of debt issuance costs

1,067

1,018

          Imputed interest expense and fair value adjustments to contingent consideration

7,579

1,746

          Provision for credit losses

2,009

9,391

          Loss on disposal of assets

2,219

1,916

          Loss on dissolution of subsidiary

301

          Impairment losses

11,733

13,749

          Deferred income taxes

(7,528)

(11,001)

          Excess tax benefit from equity-based awards

1,705

(1,122)

          Equity-based compensation expense

22,071

17,571

          Gain on foreign currency derivatives

(3)

(7)

          Changes in assets and liabilities, net of acquisitions:

                Accounts receivable 

22,359

(74,564)

                Prepaids and other assets 

8,570

43,699

                Accounts payable and accrued expenses 

9,518

(12,695)

                Deferred revenue and other liabilities 

(58,659)

(83,842)

                    Net cash provided by operating activities

144,765

137,048

Cash flows from investing activities:

     Proceeds from sale of property and equipment

261

229

     Purchases of property, plant and equipment

(67,839)

(84,012)

     Acquisitions

(142,420)

          Net cash used in investing activities

(67,578)

(226,203)

Cash flows from financing activities:

     Net proceeds from / (repayments of) line of credit

35,000

169,000

     Payments on other debt

(2,317)

(3,245)

     Payments of contingent consideration and hold back payments to acquisitions

(37,676)

(9,600)

     Dividends paid to shareholders

(49,232)

(48,072)

     Payments to noncontrolling interest

(10,972)

(11,883)

     Tax payments related to the issuance of restricted stock units

(3,037)

(7,164)

          Net cash (used in) / provided by financing activities

(68,234)

89,036

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

(2,112)

(13,499)

Increase / (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

6,841

(13,618)

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of period

167,064

180,682

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of period

$                      173,905

$                      167,064

 

TTEC HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL INFORMATION

(In thousands, except per share data)

Three months ended

Twelve months ended

December 31,

December 31,

2023

2022

2023

2022

Revenue

$  626,181

$  658,278

$ 2,462,817

$ 2,443,707

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Income from Operations and EBITDA:

Income from Operations

$   16,924

$   48,745

$    118,021

$    168,543

Restructuring charges, net

3,145

1,412

8,041

5,673

Impairment losses

650

450

11,733

13,749

Cybersecurity incident related impact, net of insurance recovery

(446)

(3,210)

(3,610)

Software accelerated amortization

6,382

8,509

Write-off of acquisition related receivable

900

Property costs not related to operations

757

1,501

Liability related to notifications triggered by labor scheme   (1)

6,000

6,000

Grant income for pandemic relief

40

Change in acquisition related obligation

483

Equity-based compensation expenses

5,661

4,331

22,071

17,571

Amortization of purchased intangibles 

8,676

9,038

35,759

37,169

         Non-GAAP Income from Operations

$   41,813

$   69,912

$    200,439

$    248,504

         Non-GAAP Income from Operations Margin

6.7 %

10.6 %

8.1 %

10.2 %

Depreciation and amortization

15,894

16,310

64,840

66,113

Changes in acquisition contingent consideration

616

(272)

7,480

1,798

Change in escrow balance related to acquisition

625

Loss on dissolution of subsidiary

301

Foreign exchange loss / (gain), net

1,112

1,710

1,950

(6,514)

Other income (expense), net

(1,894)

(1,156)

(4,126)

10,161

         Adjusted EBITDA

$   57,541

$   86,504

$    271,509

$    320,062

         Adjusted EBITDA Margin

9.2 %

13.1 %

11.0 %

13.1 %

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP EPS:

Net (Loss) / Income

$    (8,206)

$   25,550

$      18,264

$    117,333

Add:  Asset impairment and restructuring charges

3,795

1,862

19,774

19,422

Add:  Equity-based compensation expenses

5,661

4,331

22,071

17,571

Add:  Amortization of purchased intangibles

8,676

9,038

35,759

37,169

Add:  Cybersecurity incident related impact, net of insurance recovery

(446)

(3,210)

(3,610)

Add:  Software accelerated amortization

6,382

8,509

Add:  Write-off of acquisition related receivable

900

Add:  Property costs not related to operations

757

1,501

Add:  Liability related to notifications triggered by labor scheme

6,000

6,000

Add:  Grant income for pandemic relief

40

Add:  Change in acquisition related obligation

483

Add:  Changes in acquisition contingent consideration

616

(272)

7,480

1,798

Add:  Changes in escrow balance related to acquisition

625

Add:  Loss on dissolution of subsidiary

301

Add:  Foreign exchange loss / (gain), net

1,112

1,710

1,950

(6,514)

Less:  Changes in valuation allowance, return to provision adjustments and

other, and tax effects of items separately disclosed above

(885)

(4,909)

(7,859)

(22,872)

         Non-GAAP Net Income

$   17,526

$   43,246

$    103,179

$    169,706

             Diluted shares outstanding

47,503

47,299

47,419

47,335

         Non-GAAP EPS

$0.37

$0.91

$2.18

$3.59

Reconciliation of Free Cash Flow:

Cash Flow From Operating Activities:

   Net (Loss) / Income

$    (8,206)

$   25,550

$      18,264

$    117,333

   Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:

          Depreciation and amortization

24,904

31,730

101,272

111,791

          Other

14,836

(39,045)

25,229

(92,076)

   Net cash provided by operating activities

31,534

18,235

144,765

137,048

Less – Total Cash Capital Expenditures

13,117

19,448

67,839

84,012

        Free Cash Flow

$   18,417

$    (1,213)

$      76,926

$      53,036

(1) –  For further information, please see discussion in the Risk Factors section of the 2023 Form 10-K filed on February 29, 2024.

 

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Income from Operations and Adjusted EBITDA by Segment :

TTEC Engage

TTEC Digital

TTEC Engage

TTEC Digital

Q4 23

Q4 22

Q4 23

Q4 22

YTD 23

YTD 22

YTD 23

YTD 22

Income from Operations

$     6,942

$  38,821

$   9,982

$   9,924

$     88,175

$   133,648

$  29,846

$  34,895

Restructuring charges, net

1,823

1,130

1,322

282

4,250

5,251

3,791

422

Impairment losses

700

24

(50)

426

8,929

13,112

2,804

637

Cybersecurity incident related impact, net of insurance recovery

(446)

(3,210)

(3,610)

Software accelerated amortization

5,106

1,276

6,808

1,701

Write-off of acquisition related receivable

900

Property costs not related to operations

757

1,501

Grant income for pandemic relief

40

Change in acquisition related obligation

483

Liability related to notifications triggered by labor scheme

6,000

6,000

Equity-based compensation expenses

3,658

2,659

2,003

1,672

14,257

11,476

7,814

6,095

Amortization of purchased intangibles 

4,264

4,658

4,412

4,380

18,215

17,272

17,544

19,897

         Non-GAAP Income from Operations

$   24,144

$  51,952

$ 17,669

$ 17,960

$   138,157

$   183,957

$  62,282

$  64,547

Depreciation and amortization

13,458

13,667

2,436

2,643

55,153

54,561

9,687

11,552

Changes in acquisition contingent consideration

616

(272)

7,480

1,798

Change in escrow balance related to acquisition

625

Loss on dissolution of subsidiary

301

Foreign exchange loss / (gain), net

1,271

1,606

(159)

104

2,085

(5,540)

(135)

(974)

Other income (expense), net

(1,728)

(1,063)

(166)

(93)

(4,060)

9,352

(66)

809

         Adjusted EBITDA

$   37,761

$  65,890

$ 19,780

$ 20,614

$   199,741

$   244,128

$  71,768

$  75,934

 

 

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BREAKTHROUGH PRIZE ANNOUNCES 2025 LAUREATES IN LIFE SCIENCES, FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICS, AND MATHEMATICS

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“Oscars® of Science” Awards Six $3 Million Prizes

GLP-1 Diabetes and Obesity Discovery | Multiple Sclerosis Causes and Treatments | DNA Editing

Exploration of Nature at Shortest Distances 

Proof of Geometric Langlands Conjecture

Special Prize Awarded to Giant of Theoretical Physics

Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences Awarded to Daniel J. Drucker, Joel Habener, Jens Juul Holst, Lotte Bjerre Knudsen and Svetlana Mojsov; Alberto Ascherio and Stephen L. Hauser; and David R. Liu

Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics Awarded to More than 13,000 Researchers from ATLAS, CMS, ALICE and LHCb Experiments at CERN

Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics Awarded to Dennis Gaitsgory

Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics Awarded to Gerardus ‘t Hooft

Six New Horizons Prizes Awarded for Early-Career Achievements in Physics and Mathematics

Three Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prizes Awarded to Women Mathematicians
for Early-Career Work

Laureates Announced and Honored at Annual Breakthrough Prize Ceremony in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, April 5, 2025 /CNW/ — The Breakthrough Prize Foundation today announced the winners of the 2025 Breakthrough Prizes, honoring scientists driving remarkable discoveries in gene editing, human diseases, the fundamental particles of the Universe and its underlying mathematical principles.

The Breakthrough Prize – popularly known as the “Oscars® of Science” – was created to celebrate the wonders of our scientific age by founding sponsors Sergey Brin, Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, Julia and Yuri Milner, and Anne Wojcicki.

Six Breakthrough Prizes of $3 million each were awarded in Life Sciences, Fundamental Physics, and Mathematics. In addition, the foundation announced eight early-career physicists and mathematicians are sharing six $100,000 New Horizons Prizes. Three women mathematicians recently completing PhDs are each receiving a $50,000 Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize. This year’s prize money totals $18.75 million, bringing the amount conferred over the 14 years of the Breakthrough Prize to more than $326 million.

“This year’s Breakthrough Prize laureates have made amazing strides – including treatments for major diseases affecting millions of people worldwide – showing once again the transformative power of curiosity-driven basic science.”
Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg

“The questions these laureates are asking are among the deepest questions there are – about the workings of life, the nature of the Universe and the abstract landscapes of mathematics. It’s inspiring to see scientists seeking and finding answers to these questions.”
Yuri Milner

“The breakthroughs being recognized this year are extraordinary – including, in my own field, amazing gene-editing technologies that are already having a big impact. I’m excited to learn more about the scientists’ ideas across all the fields.” 
– Anne Wojcicki

Life Sciences

Daniel J. Drucker, Joel Habener, Jens Juul Holst, Lotte Bjerre Knudsen and Svetlana Mojsov share the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences. These five scientists’ complementary contributions – from basic hormone discovery through physiological understanding to pharmaceutical development – have led to highly effective drugs for diabetes and obesity, ushering in a new era of GLP-1 medicines for cardiometabolic disorders. Between them their breakthroughs include: the discovery of the gene encoding the GLP-1 hormone; the synthesis, isolation and characterization of the hormone’s biologically active forms; the demonstration that it is produced in the gut and stimulates insulin production; elucidation of its broader physiological roles, including control of appetite and energy homeostasis; the development of a more stable version of the hormone that continues to act in the body for days rather than hours; and its translation into a new class of drugs that is transforming the treatment of metabolic diseases affecting hundreds of millions of people worldwide.

Stephen L. Hauser and Alberto Ascherio share the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences. The two researchers have transformed the understanding and treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS), a debilitating neurodegenerative disease in which the immune system attacks the insulating protein around nerve fibers. Among other contributions, Hauser overturned the scientific consensus on the mechanism of MS, identifying the immune system’s B cells as the primary driver of damage to nerve cells. He was also instrumental in the development and testing of B cell-depleting therapies, which have revolutionized modern treatment of the disease. Meanwhile, through painstaking long-term epidemiological analysis, Ascherio discovered the necessary condition for getting MS: infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). The majority of the population carries this pathogen, normally without severe effects, but Ascherio showed that contracting it raises the risk of developing MS by a factor of 32. This work opens the possibility of treating MS with antiviral drugs, and for the development of a vaccine for EBV that could effectively prevent MS altogether.

David R. Liu is awarded the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for developing two powerful, widely used gene-editing technologies. These technologies are engineered molecular machines that correct mutations in our DNA that cause genetic diseases in patients. Importantly, they do not require cutting the DNA double-helix, and thus lead to fewer unwanted outcomes. In 2016 Liu’s lab developed base editing, which corrects the single-letter “misspellings” that constitute about 30 percent of mutations known to cause genetic diseases. Then in 2019 his lab invented prime editing, which replaces whole stretches of defective DNA with a corrected version, and in principle could be used to repair nearly all disease-causing mutations. These technologies have already been distributed more than 20,000 times to labs around the world, resulting in thousands of published advances in research, agriculture, and biomedicine. In animals, base editing and prime editing have successfully corrected mutations to rescue blood diseases such as sickle-cell disease and beta-thalassemia, neurological disorders such as ALS and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), muscle diseases such as muscular dystrophy and cardiomyopathies, genetic forms of blindness, genetic forms of hearing loss, several metabolic disorders, and progeria, a premature aging disease. At least 15 base editing and prime editing clinical trials have begun in five countries, with beneficial and, in some cases, life-saving results already confirmed in patients for the treatment of T-cell leukemia, sickle-cell disease, beta-thalassemia, and high cholesterol.

Fundamental Physics

The Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics is awarded to thousands of researchers from more than 70 countries representing four experimental collaborations at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) – ATLAS, CMS, ALICE and LHCb.

The $3 million prize is allocated to ATLAS ($1 million); CMS ($1 million), ALICE ($500,000) and LHCb ($500,000), in recognition of 13,508 co-authors of publications based on LHC Run-2 data released between 2015 and July 15, 2024. [ATLAS – 5,345 researchers; CMS – 4,550; ALICE – 1,869; LHCb – 1,744]. 

In consultation with the leaders of the experiments, the Breakthrough Prize Foundation will donate 100 percent of the prize funds to the CERN & Society Foundation. The prize money will be used by the collaborations to offer grants for doctoral students from member institutes to spend research time at CERN, giving the students experience working at the forefront of science and new expertise to bring back to their home countries and regions.

The four experiments are recognized for testing the modern theory of particle physics – the Standard Model – and other theories describing physics that might lie beyond it to high precision. This includes precisely measuring properties of the Higgs boson and elucidating the mechanism by which the Higgs field gives mass to elementary particles; probing extremely rare particle interactions, and exotic states of matter that existed in the first moments of the Universe; discovering more than 72 new hadrons and measuring subtle differences between matter and antimatter particles; and setting strong bounds on possibilities for new physics beyond the Standard Model, including dark matter, supersymmetry and hidden extra dimensions. ATLAS and CMS are general-purpose experiments, which pursue the full program of exploration offered by the LHC’s high-energy and high-intensity proton and ion beams. They synchronously announced the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012 and continue to investigate its properties. ALICE studies the quark-gluon plasma, a state of extremely hot and dense matter that existed in the first microseconds after the Big Bang. And LHCb explores minute differences between matter and antimatter, violation of fundamental symmetries, and the complex spectra of composite particles (“hadrons”) made of heavy and light quarks. By performing these extraordinarily precise and delicate tests, the LHC experiments have pushed the boundaries of fundamental physics to unprecedented limits.

Mathematics

Dennis Gaitsgory wins the Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics for his central role in the proof of the geometric Langlands conjecture. The Langlands program is a broad research program spanning several fields of mathematics. It grew out of a series of conjectures proposing precise connections between seemingly disparate mathematical concepts. Such connections are powerful tools; for example, the proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem reduces to a particular instance of the Langlands conjecture. These Langlands program equivalences can be thought of as generalizations of the Fourier transform, a tool that relates waves to frequency spectrums and has widespread uses from seismology to sound engineering. In the case of the geometric Langlands conjecture, the proposed one-to-one correspondence is between two very different sets of objects, analogous to these spectrums and waves: on the spectrum side are abstract algebraic objects called representations of the fundamental group, which capture information about the kinds of loop that can wrap around certain complex surfaces; on the “wave” side are sheaves, which, loosely speaking, are rules assigning vector spaces to points on a surface. Gaitsgory has dedicated much of the last 30 years to the geometric Langlands conjecture. In 2013 he wrote an outline of the steps required for a proof, and after more than a decade of intensive research in 2024 he and his colleagues published the full proof, comprising over 800 pages spread over 5 papers. This is a monumental advance, expected to have deep implications in other areas of mathematics too, including number theory, algebraic geometry and mathematical physics.

Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics

Gerard ‘t Hooft, winner of the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, is one of the world’s most pre-eminent theoretical physicists. In the early 1970s he made crucial contributions to the foundations of what would later become known as the Standard Model of the subatomic particles. He proved that Yang-Mills theories (the mathematical framework underlying theories of both the weak and strong nuclear forces) make sense when treated quantum mechanically – that they can give finite, calculable results rather than meaningless infinities – thus validating theories which became central to the Standard Model. He made several crucial contributions to understanding the theory of the strong force, including resolving a major problem involving the masses of particles through special field configurations called instantons; he developed new mathematical tools for studying strongly interacting quarks; and he introduced the fruitful approach of studying the strong force by imagining it is mediated by many more varieties of quarks and gluons than it actually is. These and other contributions helped establish the Standard Model as a workable theory and provided powerful tools for calculating its predictions. ‘t Hooft has studied the quantum effects that can explain how information is processed in black holes, which led to the development of the holographic principle in cosmology, and possibly to new alternative ways to interpret quantum mechanics. 

New Horizons in Physics Prize

This year’s New Horizons in Physics Prizes honor early-career researchers across a wide range of fields. In atomic physics, Waseem Bakr has created quantum gas microscopes that can image individual atoms confined in an optical lattice, advancing the study of strongly interacting quantum systems. In quantum information, a field at the fertile intersection of physics, mathematics and computer science, Jeongwan Haah has developed models of emergent quantum systems –macroscopic systems exhibiting quantum behavior, whose potential applications include quantum computing; these models include ‘Haah’s code’, which has opened the field of a class of quasi-particles called fractons. And in astronomy, Sebastiaan Haffert, Rebecca Jensen-Clem and Maaike van Kooten have designed and enabled novel techniques for extreme adaptive optics, which are systems that compensate for the effects of Earth’s atmosphere on light reaching terrestrial telescopes. Their work promises to enable the direct detection of the smallest exoplanets.

New Horizons in Mathematics Prize

Modern physics and higher mathematics share intimate connections, and it is notable that the research areas of all three of this year’s New Horizons in Mathematics Prize winners have links to quantum physics. Ewain Gwynne is recognized for his work in conformal probability, which studies probabilistic objects such as random curves and surfaces. John Pardon has produced a number of important results in geometry and topology, particularly in the field of symplectic geometry and pseudo-holomorphic curves, which are certain types of smooth surfaces in manifolds. Sam Raskin has played a significant role in the major recent progress on the geometric Langlands program (see Mathematics section above), including the final proof of the geometric Langlands conjecture in characteristic 0.

Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize

The Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize is awarded to outstanding women mathematicians who have recently completed their PhDs. Si Ying Lee has found a new approach to an important problem in the Langlands program (see Mathematics section above), succeeding in reducing it to a local problem. Rajula Srivastava has made progress in a challenging area at the intersection of harmonic analysis and number theory. Her work focuses on bounding the number of lattice points one can find near a given smooth surface, with important applications to Diophantine approximation in higher dimensions. Ewin Tang has invented quantum computing algorithms for machine learning. She also proved that certain calculations, which quantum algorithms were widely considered to be exponentially faster at solving, can actually be solved in comparable time by a normal (non-quantum) computer. 

 

Citations for 2025 Laureates

2025 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences

Daniel J. Drucker
Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health, and University of Toronto

Joel Habener 
Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University

Jens Juul Holst 
Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research and the Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Copenhagen

Lotte Bjerre Knudsen
Novo Nordisk

Svetlana Mojsov
Rockefeller University

For the discovery and characterization of GLP-1 and revealing its physiology and potential in treating diabetes and obesity.

2025 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences

Alberto Ascherio
Harvard University

Stephen L. Hauser
University of California, San Francisco

For establishing the role of B cells in multiple sclerosis and developing B-cell based treatments, and for revealing that Epstein-Barr virus infection is the leading risk for multiple sclerosis.

2025 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences

David R. Liu
Merkin Institute for Transformative Technologies in Healthcare at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Harvard University, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute

For developing base editing and prime editing, technologies that edit the DNA of living systems without cutting the DNA double helix, and rewrite segments of genes at their native locations, enabling the correction or replacement of virtually any mutation.

2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics

The ATLAS, CMS, ALICE and LHCb Collaborations at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider

For detailed measurements of Higgs boson properties confirming the symmetry-breaking mechanism of mass generation, the discovery of new strongly interacting particles, the study of rare processes and matter-antimatter asymmetry, and the exploration of nature at the shortest distances and most extreme conditions at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider.

The $3 million prize is allocated to ATLAS ($1 million); CMS ($1 million), ALICE ($500,000) and LHCb ($500,000), in recognition of 13,508 co-authors of publications based on LHC Run-2 data released between 2015 and July 15, 2024. [ATLAS – 5,345 researchers; CMS – 4,550; ALICE – 1,869; LHCb – 1,744]. 

In consultation with the leaders of the experiments, the Breakthrough Prize Foundation will donate 100 percent of the prize funds to the CERN & Society Foundation. The prize money will be used by the collaborations to offer grants for doctoral students from member institutes to spend research time at CERN, giving the students experience working at the forefront of science and new expertise to bring back to their home countries and regions.

The names of each prizewinner can be found at https://breakthroughprize.org/Laureates/1.

2025 Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics

Gerardus ‘t Hooft
Utrecht University
For fundamental insights into gauge theory and the standard model.

2025 Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics

Dennis Gaitsgory
Max Planck Institute for Mathematics
For foundational works and numerous breakthrough contributions to the geometric Langlands program and its quantum version; in particular, the development of the derived algebraic geometry approach and the proof of the geometric Langlands conjecture in characteristic 0.

2025 New Horizons in Mathematics Prize

Ewain Gwynne
University of Chicago
For contributions to conformal probability, in particular to the understanding of the LQG metric.

John Pardon
Stony Brook University
For contributions to symplectic topology and other areas of geometry and topology.

Sam Raskin
Yale University
For contributions to the geometric Langlands program, including the theory of the Whittaker model and the proof of the geometric Langlands conjecture in characteristic 0.

2025 Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize

Si Ying Lee
Stanford University
(PhD Harvard University 2022)
For contributions to the theory of Shimura varieties.

Rajula Srivastava
University of Bonn and Max Planck Institute for Mathematics
(PhD University of Wisconsin 2022)
For contributions in harmonic analysis and analytic number theory, including contributions to the problem of counting rational points near smooth manifolds.

Ewin Tang
University of California, Berkeley
(PhD University of Washington 2023)
For developing classical analogs of quantum algorithms for machine learning and linear algebra, and for advances in quantum machine learning on quantum data.

2025 New Horizons in Physics Prize

Waseem Bakr
Princeton University
For the realization of quantum gas microscopes for atoms and molecules, providing a microscopic view on correlations and transport in strongly interacting quantum systems.

2025 New Horizons in Physics Prize

Jeongwan Haah
Stanford University
For the discovery of Haah’s code, in which fractal conservation laws emerge, and other models bringing discrete mathematical structures to physics

2025 New Horizons in Physics Prize

Sebastiaan Haffert 
Leiden University, Leiden Observatory and University of Arizona, Steward Observatory

Rebecca Jensen-Clem
University of California, Santa Cruz 

Maaike van Kooten
National Research Council Canada
For demonstrating new extreme adaptive optics techniques that will allow the direct detection of the smallest exoplanets.

About The Breakthrough Prize
For the 13th year, the Breakthrough Prize, renowned as the “Oscars® of Science,” recognizes the world’s top scientists. Each prize is $3 million and presented in the fields of Life Sciences, Fundamental Physics and Mathematics. In addition, up to three New Horizons in Physics Prizes, up to three New Horizons in Mathematics Prizes and up to three Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prizes are given out to early-career researchers each year. Laureates attend a gala award ceremony designed to celebrate their achievements and inspire the next generation of scientists.

The Breakthrough Prizes were founded by Sergey Brin, Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, Julia and Yuri Milner, and Anne Wojcicki and have been sponsored by foundations established by them. Selection Committees composed of previous Breakthrough Prize laureates in each field choose the winners. Information on the Breakthrough Prize is available at https://breakthroughprize.org.

 

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Breakthrough Prize Foundation Announces Student Winner of 10th Annual Breakthrough Junior Challenge Science Video Competition

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Jasmine Eyal, Age 16, of Singapore, Receives Top Honors and $400,000 in Education Prizes for her Original Video Explaining Mechanogenetic Cellular Engineering

LOS ANGELES, April 5, 2025 /CNW/ — The Breakthrough Prize Foundation today announced Singapore-based Jasmine Eyal as winner of the 10th annual Breakthrough Junior Challenge, a global science video competition designed to inspire creative thinking and communications skills around fundamental concepts in the life sciences, physics, and mathematics.

The Breakthrough Junior Challenge will award a total of $400,000 in educational prizes to Jasmine and her science teacher Julie Li-Eyal. Jasmine will receive a $250,000 college scholarship. In her role as science teacher, Ms. Li-Eyal will receive a $50,000 prize. The prize also includes a state-of-the-art science lab designed by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory valued at $100,000, which will be given to Community High School, part of the Beginning with Children Education Network in Brooklyn, NY.

Jasmine was honored alongside the 2025 Breakthrough Prize laureates at The Breakthrough Prize Ceremony in Los Angeles.

“This is the tenth year of the Junior Challenge, and every year I’m very impressed by the quality of the submissions,” said Julia Milner, co-founder of the Breakthrough Prize. “Jasmine’s video is a great example of where curiosity can lead you. She was researching potential treatments for her grandma’s diabetes, and it inspired her to explain the idea in a really smart, original and funny way.”

Jasmine’s winning entry explains mechanogenetic cellular engineering, an innovative biotechnology, exploring how it works and its potential as a medical tool in the future. The short film can be seen here. The entry marks Jasmine’s second time as a competition finalist, having entered the Breakthrough Junior Challenge in 2023.

“I am so honored to receive this award. My grandma, Popo, struggles with Type 1 diabetes, and I was inspired to learn more about this field of biology because of its potential to revolutionize health and medicine, treat chronic illnesses, and improve health outcomes,” said Jasmine. “The intersection of biology and technology in cellular engineering is an area where breakthroughs can dramatically improve the quality of life for countless individuals, including Popo.”   

Her grandmother, who co-stars in the video, was the first person to share with Jasmine the news of her win, in a video which can be seen here.

“I was so pleased when Jasmine asked me to participate in her entry and was delighted to be the one to share the news with her,” said Anne Li, Jasmine’s grandmother. “Jasmine has been an enthusiastic learner her entire life, and her mother has been an outstanding homeschool educator, connecting everyday experiences to science. She encourages Jasmine to approach the world with scientific curiosity, teaching her to hypothesize, experiment, and analyze results critically.”

“We are incredibly grateful for this generous gift, which will be a true blessing for our students and the entire Community High School family,” said Esosa Ogbahon, Superintendent of Beginning with Children and Community High School Principal. “Science is a critical and ever-evolving field and having access to a dedicated lab will allow our students to engage in hands-on learning, deepen their curiosity, and explore the endless possibilities that science offers. This opportunity will not only enrich our curriculum but also inspire the next generation of scientists, innovators, and problem-solvers.” 

The Breakthrough Junior Challenge is a global initiative to develop and demonstrate young people’s knowledge of science and scientific principles; generate excitement in these fields; support STEM career choices; and engage the imagination and interest of the public-at-large in key concepts of fundamental science.  Each year, students ages 13-18 are invited to create original videos (up to two minutes in length) that illustrate a concept or theory in life sciences, physics or mathematics. Submissions are evaluated based on the students’ ability to communicate complex scientific ideas in the most engaging, illuminating and imaginative ways.

“Jasmine and all the incredible finalists demonstrate a passion for learning – and a passion for sharing learning with others,” said Sal Khan. “Khan Academy is proud to partner with the Challenge to encourage and support students around the world as they explore deep concepts in science and math.”

This year, the Breakthrough Junior Challenge attracted more than 2,300 applicants from around the world. Submissions were narrowed down to 30 semifinalists, which represented the top submissions after two rounds of judging: first, a mandatory peer review, followed by an evaluation panel of judges. Sixteen finalists were selected in September 2024.

Now in its 10th year, the Breakthrough Junior Challenge has attracted more than 100,000 students, parents and teachers, and received applications from more than 30,000 students from over 200 countries across the globe, including Canada, India, Mauritius, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, and the United States. The Challenge has awarded more than $2.5 million in college scholarships, $1 million for science labs, and $500,000 in awards to inspiring teachers in science or math. Previous winners have created videos about the Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, Circadian Rhythms, Neutrino Astronomy, Quantum Physics, and more. Award alumni have gone on to attend institutions including MIT, Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford. 

This year’s Selection Committee was comprised of: Ian Agol, professor of mathematics, University of California, Berkeley, and Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics laureate; Rachel Crane, former space and science correspondent, CNN; Pascale Ehrenfreund, PhD, president, Committee on Space Research COSPAR; John Grunsfeld, PhD, NASA astronaut and administrator; Mae Jemison, science literacy expert, former astronaut, and principal, 100 Year Starship; Jeffrey W. Kelly, professor of chemistry, Scripps Research Institute and Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences laureate; Scott Kelly, retired NASA astronaut; Salman Khan, founder and CEO, Khan Academy; Ijad Madisch, CEO, co-founder, ResearchGate; Samaya Nissanke, University of Amsterdam, Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics laureate; Nicole Stott, NASA astronaut; Andrew Strominger, professor of physics, Harvard University, and Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics laureate; Terence Tao, UCLA professor and Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics laureate; Esther Wojcicki, founder, Palo Alto High Media Arts Center; Richard Youle, National Institutes of Health, and Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences laureate; and S. Pete Worden, chairman, Breakthrough Prize Foundation and executive director, Breakthrough StarShot.

Submissions for the 2025 Breakthrough Challenge open on May 1st. 

Partners

The Breakthrough Junior Challenge
The Breakthrough Junior Challenge, founded by Julia and Yuri Milner, is a global science video competition, aiming to develop and demonstrate young people’s knowledge of science and scientific principles and communications skills; generate excitement in these fields; support STEM career choices; and engage the imagination and interest of the public-at-large in key concepts of fundamental science.

The Breakthrough Prize
The Breakthrough Prize, renowned as the “Oscars of Science,” recognizes the world’s top scientists. Each prize is $3 million and presented in the fields of Life Sciences, Fundamental Physics (one per year) and Mathematics (one per year). In addition, up to three New Horizons in Physics Prizes, up to three New Horizons in Mathematics Prizes and up to three Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prizes are given out to early-career researchers each year. Laureates attend a gala award ceremony designed to celebrate their achievements and inspire the next generation of scientists.

The Breakthrough Prizes were founded by Sergey Brin, Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, Julia and Yuri Milner, and Anne Wojcicki. The Prizes have been sponsored by the personal foundations established by Sergey Brin, Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, Julia and Yuri Milner and Anne Wojcicki. Selection Committees composed of previous Breakthrough Prize laureates in each field choose the winners. Information on the Breakthrough Prize is available at breakthroughprize.org.

About Khan Academy
Khan Academy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the mission of providing a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Khan Academy is piloting an AI guide called Khanmigo that is a tutor and teaching assistant. Khanmigo is integrated into a platform that includes practice problems, videos and articles that cover a range of subjects. Khan Academy’s free app for young children ages two to eight is Khan Academy Kids. The organization partners with school districts across the country that serve students who are historically under-resourced. Districts use Khan Academy Districts, MAP Accelerator and Khan Academy Kids to help teachers differentiate instruction. Worldwide, more than 160 million registered learners have used Khan Academy in 190 countries and 51 languages. For more information, please see research findings about Khan Academy and our press center.

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL)
The Breakthrough Prize Lab for the winning student’s school is designed in partnership with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL). Founded in 1890, CSHL is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit that powers transformation discoveries in cancer, neuroscience, plant biology, artificial intelligence, and quantitative biology. Merging world-renowned science and education divisions, CSHL nurtures a culture of curiosity, discovery, and innovation to make lives better. CSHL’s DNA Learning Center (DNALC) is the largest provider of hands-on instruction in genetics and biotechnology – operating five centers in the NY metro area, encompassing 20 teaching and bioinformatics labs. Each year 36,000 middle and high school students conduct experiments with DNALC faculty; an additional 2,000 participate in intensive, 5-day summer camps and mentored research projects. For more information visit www.cshl.edu.

Contact
For more information, including competition rules, video submission guidelines and queries, go to: breakthroughjuniorchallenge.org.

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SOURCE The Breakthrough Prize

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VISION CAPITAL GROUP USA, LLC To Auction All Assets of Solstice Marketing Concepts LLC Via Public Sale

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VISION CAPITAL GROUP USA, LLC, a New Jersey-based secured party, will hold a public sale on April 21, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. EST, conducted telephonically, to foreclose its security interest in all assets of Solstice Marketing Concepts LLC and any affiliates (the “Borrower”). The sale, governed by Section 9-610 of the Uniform Commercial Code, will offer the “Public Sale Collateral”—comprising all tangible and intangible assets, including accounts, inventory, equipment, intellectual property, and more—to the highest bidder for cash, with reserve. The assets will be sold “as is, where is,” with no warranties. Qualified bidders must submit a confidentiality agreement, financial proof, an executed Asset Purchase Agreement, and a 10% deposit to participate. The collateral may be sold in lots or as a single unit, with payment due via wire transfer upon sale conclusion. The Secured Party retains rights to credit bid, reject bids, or cancel the sale. For details, contact Chad Friedman Esq. at cfriedman@chapter11law.com or (917) 447-7712.

NEW YORK, April 5, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Pursuant to Section 9-610 of the Uniform Commercial Code, VISION CAPITAL GROUP USA, LLC, a New Jersey limited liability company, as secured party, servicer and attorney-in-fact will hold a secured party public sale to the highest and best bidder for cash, with reserve, to be conducted telephonically by the Secured Party on Monday, April 21, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (the “Public Sale”). Qualified Bidders (defined below) may attend the Public Sale telephonically.

The Public Sale Collateral—comprising all tangible and intangible assets of Solstice Marketing Concepts LLC—will be sold ‘as is, where is’ to the highest bidder on April 21, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. EST.

The Secured Party is conducting the Public Sale to foreclose the security interest held by the Secured Party in all of the assets of Solstice Marketing Concepts LLC (the “Borrower”). The assets being sold are referred to as the “Public Sale Collateral”.

The Secured Party is conducting the Public Sale to foreclose the lien and security interest held by the Secured Party in and to the Public Sale Collateral only but Secured Party’s lien and security interest on the remainder of Borrower’s personal property, including any inventory that is not part of this Public Sale, shall remain. At the Public Sale, all of Borrower’s right, title and interest in and to the Public Sale Collateral will be sold “as is” and “where is” and the Secured Party shall make no representation or warranty, either express or implied, relating to title, use, quiet enjoyment, possession, merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, completeness, condition or the like, all of which are hereby disclaimed, in the sale or disposition of the Public Sale Collateral. The Public Sale of the Public Sale Collateral, if made, shall be to the bidder with the highest and best offer.

The Public Sale Collateral consists of all of the Debtor’s assets (whether tangible, intangible, personal or mixed), whether now owned or hereafter acquired and wherever located, including, without limitation, all accounts, proceeds of leases, cash, inventory, supplies, furniture, fixtures, equipment, deposits and other accounts, security deposits, third party deposits, money, equity interests or capital stock in subsidiaries, investment property, instruments, chattel paper, contracts, patents, copyrights, trademarks and other general intangibles, commercial litigation claims, commercial tort claims, farm products, deposit accounts, documents, the proceeds of all claims or causes of action, and all rents, products, offspring, profits, supporting obligations, and proceeds of any and all of the foregoing.

In order to participate in the bidding process, each person or entity (a “Potential Bidder”) must deliver to the undersigned (i) an executed confidentiality agreement in form and substance acceptable to Secured Party, (ii) current financial statements of the Potential Bidder or other evidence acceptable to Secured Party that will show the financial ability of the Potential Bidder to purchase the Public Sale Collateral and such other information as the Secured Party shall require to show proof of the Potential Bidder’s ability to execute the closing the Public Sale, (iii) a completed and executed Asset Purchase Agreement in the form provided by Secured Party, and (iv) a deposit in an amount equal to ten percent of the bid amount which will be held in escrow by Secured Party. A Potential Bidder that complies with the foregoing requirements shall be deemed a “Qualified Bidder”. Those Qualified Bidders participating at the Public Sale shall be provided with the telephone number and passcode to attend the Public Sale and shall be given the opportunity to bid on a competitive basis.

At the Public Sale, the Public Sale Collateral may be offered for sale in separate lots and will be offered as a single lot. At the conclusion of the Public Sale, the successful bidder(s) must pay the final bid amount in full by a wire transfer of funds to the Secured Party. The Secured Party reserves the right to credit bid on any or all of the Public Sale Collateral at the Public Sale. The Secured Party reserves the right to reject all bids, adjourn or cancel the Public Sale.

For further details regarding the Public Sale Collateral, obtaining the confidentiality agreement and the form asset purchase agreement, and information regarding the Public Sale, including a detailed listing of the Inventory being sold, you may contact Chad Friedman Esq. by email at cfriedman@chapter11law.com or by telephone at (917) 447-7712.

Media Contact

Chad Friedman, Vision Capital Group, 1 (917) 447-7712, cfriedman@chapter11law.com

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SOURCE Vision Capital Group

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